Canola cultivar dn040844

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive canola cultivar, designated DN040844. Also included are seeds of canola cultivar DN040844, to the plants, or plant parts, of canola DN040844 and to methods for producing a canola plant produced by crossing the canola DN040844 with itself or another canola cultivar, and the creation of variants by mutagenesis or transformation of canola DN040844.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/911,481, filed Apr. 12, 2007, which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive canola cultivar,designated DN040844.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Canola is a genetic variation of rapeseed developed by Canadian plantbreeders specifically for its nutritional qualities, particularly itslow level of saturated fat. In 1956 the nutritional aspects of rapeseedoil were questioned, especially concerning the high eicosenoic anderucic fatty acid contents.

In the early 1960's, Canadian plant breeders isolated rapeseed plantswith low eicosenoic and erucic acid contents. The Health and WelfareDepartment recommended conversion to the production of low erucic acidvarieties of rapeseed. Industry responded with a voluntary agreement tolimit erucic acid content to five percent in food products, effectiveDec. 1, 1973.

In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognized rapeseed andcanola as two different species based on their content and uses.Rapeseed oil is used in industry, while canola oil is used for humanconsumption. High erucic acid rapeseed (HEAR) oil contains 22-60 percenterucic acid, while low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil has less than 2percent erucic acid. Meal with less than 30 μmol/g glucosinolates isfrom canola. Livestock can safely eat canola meal, but highglucosinolate rapeseed meal should only be fed to cattle because it maycause thyroid problems in monogastric livestock.

Each canola plant produces yellow flowers that, in turn, produce pods,similar in shape to pea pods about ⅕th the size. Within the pods aretiny round seeds that are crushed to obtain canola oil. Each seedcontains approximately 40 percent oil. The remainder of the seed isprocessed into canola meal, which is used as a high protein livestockfeed.

Because it is perceived as a “healthy” oil, its use is rising steadilyboth as a cooking oil and in processed foods. The consumption of canolaoil is expected to surpass corn and cottonseed oils, becoming secondonly to soybean oil. It is low in saturates, high in monounsaturates,and contains a high level of oleic acid. Many people prefer the lightcolor and mild taste of canola oil over olive oil, the other readilyavailable oil high in monounsaturates.

Rapeseed has been grown in India for more than 3000 years and in Europesince the 13th century. The 1950s saw the start of large scale rapeseedproduction in Europe. Total world rapeseed/canola production is morethan 22.5 million metric tons.

Farmers in Canada began producing canola oil in 1968. Early canolacultivars were known as single zero cultivars because their oilcontained 5 percent or less erucic acid, but glucosinolates were high.In 1974, the first licensed double zero cultivars (low erucic acid andlow glucosinolates) were grown. Today all canola cultivars are doublezero cultivars. Canola has come to mean all rapeseed cultivars thatproduce oil with less than 2 percent erucic acid and meal with less than30 μmol/g of glucosinolates.

Canola production uses small grain equipment, limiting the need forlarge investments in machinery. Planting costs of canola are similar tothose for winter wheat. The low investment costs and increasing consumerdemand for canola oil make it a potentially good alternative crop.

There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirableplant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definitionof problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishmentof program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives.The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meetthe program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety animproved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm.These important traits may include higher seed yield, resistance todiseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought andheat, and better agronomic quality.

Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thetype of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F₁ hybrid cultivar, purelinecultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superiorindividual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective,whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based onmean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of relatedplants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection,modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method.Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes fora highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach hasbeen used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Variousrecurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitativelyinherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrentselection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination,the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and thenumber of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation ofthe efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria varydepending on the goal and objectives, but should include gain fromselection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard,overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and number of successfulcultivars produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, per dollarexpended, etc.).

Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared toappropriate standards in environments representative of the commercialtarget area(s) for three or more years. The best lines are candidatesfor new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in a few traits maybe used as parents to produce new populations for further selection.

These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing anddistribution, usually take from eight to 12 years from the time thefirst cross is made. Therefore, development of new cultivars is atime-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficientuse of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.

A most difficult task is the identification of individuals that aregenetically superior, because for most traits the true genotypic valueis masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors.One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performancerelative to other experimental plants and to a widely grown standardcultivar. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicatedobservations provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior canolacultivars and hybrids. The breeder initially selects and crosses two ormore parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection,producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoreticallygenerate billions of different genetic combinations via crossing,selfing and mutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellularlevel. Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or evenvery similar lines, having the same canola traits.

Each year, the plant breeder selects the germplasm to advance to thenext generation. This germplasm is grown under unique and differentgeographical, climatic and soil conditions, and further selections arethen made, during and at the end of the growing season. The cultivarswhich are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is becausethe breeder's selection occurs in unique environments, with no controlat the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and withmillions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. Abreeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resultinglines he develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion.The same breeder cannot produce the same cultivar twice by using theexact same original parents and the same selection techniques. Thisunpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of researchmonies to develop superior new canola cultivars.

The development of new canola cultivars requires the development andselection of canola varieties, the crossing of these varieties andselection of superior hybrid crosses. The hybrid seed is produced bymanual crosses between selected male-fertile parents or by using malesterility systems. These hybrids are selected for certain single genetraits such as pod color, flower color, pubescence color or herbicideresistance which indicate that the seed is truly a hybrid. Additionaldata on parental lines, as well as the phenotype of the hybrid,influence the breeder's decision whether to continue with the specifichybrid cross.

Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used todevelop cultivars from breeding populations. Breeding programs combinedesirable traits from two or more cultivars or various broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which cultivars are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new cultivars areevaluated to determine which have commercial potential.

Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement ofself-pollinating crops. Two parents which possess favorable,complementary traits are crossed to produce an F₁. An F₂ population isproduced by selfing one or several F₁'s. Selection of the bestindividuals may begin in the F₂ population; then, beginning in the F₃,the best individuals in the best families are selected. Replicatedtesting of families can begin in the F₄ generation to improve theeffectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At anadvanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines ormixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potentialrelease as new cultivars.

Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations ofeither self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variablepopulation of heterozygous individuals is either identified or createdby intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selectedbased on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellentcombining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a newpopulation in which further cycles of selection are continued.

Backcross breeding has been used to transfer genes for a simplyinherited, highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivaror inbred line which is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait tobe transferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant isexpected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar)and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After theinitial cross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parentare selected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrentparent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of therecurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferredfrom the donor parent.

The single-seed descent procedure in the strict sense refers to plantinga segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, andusing the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When thepopulation has been advanced from the F₂ to the desired level ofinbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace todifferent F₂ individuals. The number of plants in a population declineseach generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plantsto produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F₂ plantsoriginally sampled in the population will be represented by a progenywhen generation advance is completed.

In a multiple-seed procedure, canola breeders commonly harvest one ormore pods from each plant in a population and thresh them together toform a bulk. Part of the bulk is used to plant the next generation andpart is put in reserve. The procedure has been referred to as modifiedsingle-seed descent or the pod-bulk technique.

The multiple-seed procedure has been used to save labor at harvest. Itis considerably faster to thresh pods with a machine than to remove oneseed from each by hand for the single-seed procedure. The multiple-seedprocedure also makes it possible to plant the same number of seeds of apopulation each generation of inbreeding. Enough seeds are harvested tomake up for those plants that did not germinate or produce seed.

Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used fordifferent traits and crops can be found in one of several referencebooks (e.g., Allard, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr,1987).

Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level ofsuperiority or improvement over current cultivars. In addition toshowing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new cultivarthat is compatible with industry standards or which creates a newmarket. The introduction of a new cultivar will incur additional coststo the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer; for specialadvertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial productionpractices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release ofa new cultivar should take into consideration research and developmentcosts as well as technical superiority of the final cultivar. Forseed-propagated cultivars, it must be feasible to produce seed easilyand economically.

Canola, Brassica napus oleifera annua, is an important and valuablefield crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to developstable, high yielding canola cultivars that are agronomically sound. Thereasons for this goal are obviously to maximize the amount of grainproduced on the land used and to supply food for both animals andhumans. To accomplish this goal, the canola breeder must select anddevelop canola plants that have the traits that result in superiorcultivars.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations relatedtherewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Otherlimitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill inthe art upon a reading of the specification.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described inconjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to beexemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In variousembodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have beenreduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to otherimprovements.

According to the invention, there is provided a novel canola cultivardesignated DN040844. This invention thus relates to the seeds of canolacultivar DN040844, to the plants, or plant parts, of canola DN040844 andto methods for producing a canola plant produced by crossing the canolaDN040844 with itself or another canola cultivar, and the creation ofvariants by mutagenesis or transformation of canola DN040844.

Thus, any such methods using the canola variety DN040844 are part ofthis invention: selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses topopulations, and the like. All plants produced using canola varietyDN040844, as a parent, are within the scope of this invention.Advantageously, the canola variety could be used in crosses with other,different, canola plants to produce first generation (F₁) canola hybridseeds and plants with superior characteristics.

In another aspect, the present invention provides for single or multiplegene converted plants of DN040844. The transferred gene(s) maypreferably be a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably, thetransferred gene(s) will confer such traits as herbicide resistance,insect resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,male fertility, male sterility, enhanced nutritional quality, andindustrial usage. The gene may be a naturally occurring canola gene or atransgene introduced through genetic engineering techniques.

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells foruse in tissue culture of canola plant DN040844. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants having the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of the foregoing canola plant, and ofregenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as theforegoing canola plant. Preferably, the regenerable cells in such tissuecultures will be embryos, protoplasts, meristematic cells, callus,pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, flowers, seeds, pods orstems. Still further, the present invention provides canola plantsregenerated from the tissue cultures of the invention.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofintroducing a desired trait into canola cultivar DN040844 wherein themethod comprises: crossing a DN040844 plant with a plant of anothercanola cultivar that comprises a desired trait to produce F₁ progenyplants, wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consistingof male sterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, andresistance to bacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease;selecting one or more progeny plants that have the desired trait toproduce selected progeny plants; crossing the selected progeny plantswith the DN040844 plants to produce backcross progeny plants; selectingfor backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait andphysiological and morphological characteristics of canola cultivarDN040844 to produce selected backcross progeny plants; and repeatingthese steps to produce selected first or higher backcross progeny plantsthat comprise the desired trait and all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of canola cultivar DN040844 as shown inTables 1, 2, and 3. Included in this aspect of the invention is theplant produced by the method wherein the plant has the desired trait andall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of canolacultivar DN040844 as shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3.

In another aspect, the present invention comprises a canola cultivarcomprising imidazolinone resistance and oleic acid content of greaterthan 70%. Preferably the canola cultivar further comprises protein valueof greater than 45%, high yield (i.e., similar or superior to WCC/RRccheck (46A65 and Q2), glucosinolate value of less than 12%, chlorophyllvalue of less than 18%, less than 3% linolenic acid and oleic acidcontent of greater than 70%. More preferably, the canola cultivarfurther comprises blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) resistance, Fusariumwilt and White Rust tolerance, and Clearfield herbicide trait. In aparticular embodiment, the yield is greater than about 2100 kg/ha.

In another aspect, the present invention comprises a canola hybridcomprising imidazolinone resistance and oleic acid content of greaterthan 70%. Preferably the canola hybrid further comprises protein valueof greater than 45%, high yield (i.e., similar or superior to WCC/RRccheck (46A65 and Q2), glucosinolate value of less than 12%, chlorophyllvalue of less than 18%, less than 3% linolenic acid and oleic acidcontent of greater than 70%. More preferably, the canola cultivarfurther comprises blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) resistance, Fusariumwilt and White Rust tolerance, and Clearfield herbicide trait. In aparticular embodiment, the yield is greater than about 2100 kg/ha.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by study of thefollowing descriptions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms,the following definitions are provided:

Allele. Allele is any of one or more alternative forms of a gene, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Anther arrangement. The orientation of the anthers in fully openedflowers can also be useful as an identifying trait. This can range fromintrose (facing inward toward pistil), erect (neither inward notoutward), or extrose (facing outward away from pistil).

Anther dotting. The presence/absence of anther dotting (colored spots onthe tips of anthers) and if present, the percentage of anther dotting onthe tips of anthers in newly opened flowers is also a distinguishingtrait for varieties.

Anther fertility. This is a measure of the amount of pollen produced onthe anthers of a flower. It can range from sterile (such as in femaleparents used for hybrid seed production) to fertile (all anthersshedding).

AOM hours. A measure of the oxidative stability of an oil usingcurrently accepted Official Methods of the Amercian Oil Chemists'Society (e.g., AOCS12b-92).

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedlycrosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a firstgeneration hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotypes of the F₁hybrid.

Blackleg. Resistance to blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) is measured ona scale of 1-5 where 1 is the most resistant and 5 is the leastresistant.

Clearfield herbicide trait. Protects crops from a family of herbicidesby genetically inhibiting the activity of the enzyme, acetolactatesynthase (ALS).

Typical commercial processing. As referred to herein, typicallycommercial processing means the refining, bleaching, and deodorizing ofa canola oil which renders it suitable for the application in which itis intended. Examples of typical commercial processing can be found in,for example, CANOLA AND RAPESEED, PRODUCTION, CHEMISTRY NUTRITION ANDPROCESSING TECHNOLOGY, edited by Fereidoon Shahidi, published by VanNostrand Reinhold (1990).

Cotyledon width. The cotyledons are leaf structures that form in thedeveloping seeds of canola which make up the majority of the mature seedof these species. When the seed germinates, the cotyledons are pushedout of the soil by the growing hypocotyls (segment of the seedling stembelow the cotyledons and above the root) and they unfold as the firstphotosynthetic leafs of the plant. The width of the cotyledons varies byvariety and can be classified as narrow, medium, or wide.

Elite canola. A canola cultivar which has been stabilized for certaincommercially important agronomic traits comprising a stabilized yield ofabout 100% or greater relative to the yield of check varieties in thesame growing location growing at the same time and under the sameconditions. In one embodiment, “elite canola” means a canola cultivarstabilized for certain commercially important agronomic traitscomprising a stabilized yield of 110% or greater relative to the yieldof check varieties in the same growing location growing at the same timeand under the same conditions. In another embodiment, “elite canola”means a canola cultivar stabilized for certain commercially importantagronomic traits comprising a stabilized yield of 115% or greaterrelative to the yield of check varieties in the same growing locationgrowing at the same time and under the same conditions.

Elite canola cultivar. A canola cultivar, per se, which has been soldcommercially.

Elite canola parent cultivar. A canola cultivar which is the parentcultivar of a canola hybrid that has been commercially sold.

Embryo. The embryo is the small plant contained within a mature seed.

FAME analysis. Fatty Acid Methyl Ester analysis is a method that allowsfor accurate quantification of the fatty acids that make up complexlipid classes.

Flower bud location. The location of the unopened flower buds relativeto the adjacent opened flowers is useful in distinguishing between thecanola species. The unopened buds are held above the most recentlyopened flowers in B. napus and they are positioned below the mostrecently opened flower buds in B. rapa.

Flowering date or date to flower. This is measured by the number of daysfrom planting to the stage when 50% of the plants in a population haveone or more open flowers. This varies from variety to variety.

Glucosinolates. These are measured in micromoles (μm) of total alipathicglucosinolates per gram of air-dried oil-free meal. The level ofglucosinolates is somewhat influenced by the sulfur fertility of thesoil, but is also controlled by the genetic makeup of each variety andthus can be useful in characterizing varieties.

Growth habit. At the end of flowering, the angle relative to the groundsurface of the outermost fully expanded leaf petioles is a varietyspecific trait. This trait can range from erect (very upright along thestem) to prostrate (almost horizontal and parallel with the groundsurface).

Imidazolinone resistance (Imi). Resistance and/or tolerance is conferredby one or more genes which alter acetolactate synthase (ALS), also knownas acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS) allowing the enzyme to resist theaction of imidazolinone.

Leaf attachment to the stem. This trait is especially useful fordistinguishing between the two canola species. The base of the leafblade of the upper stem leaves of B. rapa completely clasp the stemwhereas those of the B. napus only partially clasp the stem. Those ofthe mustard species do not clasp the stem at all.

Leaf blade color. The color of the leaf blades is variety specific andcan range from light to medium dark green to blue green.

Leaf development of lobes. The leaves on the upper portion of the stemcan show varying degrees of development of lobes which are disconnectedfrom one another along the petiole of the leaf. The degree of lobing isvariety specific and can range from absent (no lobes)/weak through verystrong (abundant lobes).

Leaf glaucosity. This refers to the waxiness of the leaves and ischaracteristic of specific varieties although environment can have someeffect on the degree of waxiness. This trait can range from absent (nowaxiness)/weak through very strong. The degree of waxiness can be bestdetermined by rubbing the leaf surface and noting the degree of waxpresent.

Leaf indentation of margin. The leaves on the upper portion of the stemcan also show varying degrees of serration along the leaf margins. Thedegree of serration or indentation of the leaf margins can vary fromabsent (smooth margin)/weak to strong (heavy saw-tooth like margin).

Leaf pubescence. The leaf pubescence is the degree of hairiness of theleaf surface and is especially useful for distinguishing between thecanola species. There are two main classes of pubescence which areglabrous (smooth/not hairy) and pubescent (hairy) which mainlydifferentiate between the B. napus and B. rapa species, respectively.

Leaf surface. The leaf surface can also be used to distinguish betweenvarieties. The surface can be smooth or rugose (lumpy) with varyingdegrees between the two extremes.

Percent linolenic acid. Percent oil of the seed that is linolenic acid.

Maturity or Date to Maturity. The maturity of a variety is measured asthe number of days between planting and physiological maturity. This isuseful trait in distinguishing varieties relative to one another.

Oil content. This is measured as percent of the whole dried seed and ischaracteristic of different varieties. It can be determined usingvarious analytical techniques such as NMR, NIR, and Soxhlet extraction.

Percent oleic acid (OLE). Percent oil of the seed that is oleic acid.

Percentage of total fatty acids. This is determined by extracting asample of oil from seed, producing the methyl esters of fatty acidspresent in that oil sample and analyzing the proportions of the variousfatty acids in the sample using gas chromatography. The fatty acidcomposition can also be a distinguishing characteristic of a variety.

Petal color. The petal color on the first day a flower opens can be adistinguishing characteristic for a variety. It can be white, varyingshades of yellow or orange.

Plant height. This is the height of the plant at the end of flowering ifthe floral branches are extended upright (i.e., not lodged). This variesfrom variety to variety and although it can be influenced byenvironment, relative comparisons between varieties grown side by sideare useful for variety identification.

Protein content. This is measured as percent of whole dried seed and ischaracteristic of different varieties. This can be determined usingvarious analytical techniques such as NIR and Kjeldahl.

Resistance to lodging. This measures the ability of a variety to standup in the field under high yield conditions and severe environmentalfactors. A variety can have good (remains upright), fair, or poor (fallsover) resistance to lodging. The degree of resistance to lodging is notexpressed under all conditions but is most meaningful when there is somedegree of lodging in a field trial.

Seed coat color. The color of the seed coat can be variety specific andcan range from black through brown through yellow. Color can also bemixed for some varieties.

Seed coat mucilage. This is useful for differentiating between the twospecies of canola with B. rapa varieties having mucilage present intheir seed coats whereas B. napus varieties do not have this present. Itis detected by imbibing seeds with water and monitoring the mucilagethat is exuded by the seed.

Seedling growth habit. The rosette consists of the first 2-8 true leavesand a variety can be characterized as having a strong rosette (closelypacked leaves) or a weak rosette (loosely arranged leaves).

Single Gene Converted (Conversion). Single gene converted (conversion)plant refers to plants which are developed by a plant breeding techniquecalled backcrossing, or via genetic engineering, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of avariety are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred intothe variety via the backcrossing technique or via genetic engineering.

Stabilized. Reproducibly passed from one generation to the nextgeneration of inbred plants of same variety.

Stem intensity of anthocyanin coloration. The stems and other organs ofcanola plants can have varying degrees of purple coloration which is dueto the presence of anthocyanin (purple) pigments. The degree ofcoloration is somewhat subject to growing conditions, but varietiestypically show varying degrees of coloration ranging from: absent (nopurple)/very weak to very strong (deep purple coloration).

Total Saturated (TOTSAT). Total percent oil of the seed of the saturatedfats in the oil including C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C20:0, C22:0 andC24.0.

Mean Yield. Mean yield of all canola entries grown at a given location.

Yield. Greater than 10% above the mean yield across 10 or morelocations.

Check Average. Average for one or more checks in a given location.

DN040844 was developed from the cross of Nex 827CL and DN995541 (Nex______) through traditional plant breeding and the dihaploidmethodology. Canola cultivar DN040844 is stable and uniform after threegenerations following dihaploid production and chromosome doubling andno off-type plants have been exhibited in evaluation.

DN040844 is a high oleic, low linolenic acid canola cultivar that isresistant to blackleg, possessed Clearfield herbicide trait, Natreon oilprofile, high protein, low glucosinolates, Fusarium wilt and White Rusttolerance. Additionally, DN040844 has genes conferring tolerance to oneor more herbicides including, but not limited to: imidazolinone,sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine,Clearfield, Dicamaba, 2,4-D, pyridyloxy auxin, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl(“fop”), cyclohexanedione (“dim”) and benzonitrile, and relatedherbicide families and/or groups of any thereof. In a particularembodiment, herbicide resistance in DN040844 is Round-up Ready™glypohsate resistance resulting from the introgression of MON eventGT-73.

Some of the criteria used to select in various generations include: seedyield, lodging resistance, emergence, disease tolerance, maturity, lateseason plant intactness, plant height and shattering resistance.

The cultivar has shown uniformity and stability, as described in thefollowing variety description information. It has been self-pollinated asufficient number of generations with careful attention to uniformity ofplant type. The cultivar has been increased with continued observationfor uniformity.

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a canola plantby crossing a first parent canola plant with a second parent canolaplant, wherein the first or second canola plant is the canola plant fromthe cultivar DN040844. Further, both first and second parent canolaplants may be from the cultivar DN040844. Therefore, any methods usingthe cultivar DN040844 are part of this invention: selfing, backcrosses,hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Any plants produced usingcultivar DN040844 as parents are within the scope of this invention.

Useful methods include, but are not limited to, expression vectorsintroduced into plant tissues using a direct gene transfer method suchas microprojectile-mediated delivery, DNA injection, electroporation andthe like. More preferably expression vectors are introduced into planttissues using the microprojectile media delivery with the biolisticdevice Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transformant plantsobtained with the protoplasm of the invention are intended to be withinthe scope of this invention.

With the advent of molecular biological techniques that have allowed theisolation and characterization of genes that encode specific proteinproducts, scientists in the field of plant biology developed a stronginterest in engineering the genome of plants to contain and expressforeign genes, or additional, or modified versions of native, orendogenous, genes (perhaps driven by different promoters) in order toalter the traits of a plant in a specific manner. Such foreignadditional and/or modified genes are referred to herein collectively as“transgenes.” Over the last fifteen to twenty years several methods forproducing transgenic plants have been developed, and the presentinvention, in particular embodiments, also relates to transformedversions of the claimed variety or cultivar.

Plant transformation involves the construction of an expression vectorwhich will function in plant cells. Such a vector comprises DNAcomprising a gene under control of or operatively linked to a regulatoryelement (for example, a promoter). The expression vector may contain oneor more such operably linked gene/regulatory element combinations. Thevector(s) may be in the form of a plasmid, and can be used alone or incombination with other plasmids, to provide transformed canola plants,using transformation methods as described below to incorporatetransgenes into the genetic material of the canola plant(s).

Expression Vectors for Canola Transformation: Marker Genes

Expression vectors include at least one genetic marker, operably linkedto a regulatory element (a promoter, for example) that allowstransformed cells containing the marker to be either recovered bynegative selection, i.e., inhibiting growth of cells that do not containthe selectable marker gene, or by positive selection, i.e., screeningfor the product encoded by the genetic marker. Many commonly usedselectable marker genes for plant transformation are well known in thetransformation arts, and include, for example, genes that code forenzymes that metabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which maybe an antibiotic or an herbicide, or genes that encode an altered targetwhich is insensitive to the inhibitor. A few positive selection methodsare also known in the art.

One commonly used selectable marker gene for plant transformation is theneomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene under the control of plantregulatory signals which confers resistance to kanamycin. Fraley et al.,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 80:4803 (1983). Another commonly usedselectable marker gene is the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene whichconfers resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin. Vanden Elzen et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 5:299 (1985).

Additional selectable marker genes of bacterial origin that conferresistance to antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase,streptomycin phosphotransferase, aminoglycoside-3′-adenyl transferaseand the bleomycin resistance determinant. Hayford et al., Plant Physiol.86:1216 (1988), Jones et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 210:86 (1987), Svab etal., Plant Mol. Biol. 14:197 (1990), Hille et al., Plant Mol. Biol.7:171 (1986). Other selectable marker genes confer resistance toherbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate or bromoxynil. Comai et al.,Nature 317:741-744 (1985), Gordon-Kamm et al., Plant Cell 2:603-618(1990) and Stalker et al., Science 242:419-423 (1988).

Other selectable marker genes for plant transformation are not ofbacterial origin. These genes include, for example, mouse dihydrofolatereductase, plant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and plantacetolactate synthase. Eichholtz et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet. 13:67(1987), Shah et al., Science 233:478 (1986), Charest et al., Plant CellRep. 8:643 (1990).

Another class of marker genes for plant transformation requiresscreening of presumptively transformed plant cells rather than directgenetic selection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxicsubstance, such as an antibiotic. These genes are particularly useful toquantify or visualize the spatial pattern of expression of a gene inspecific tissues and are frequently referred to as reporter genesbecause they can be fused to a gene or gene regulatory sequence for theinvestigation of gene expression. Commonly used genes for screeningpresumptively transformed cells include β-glucuronidase (GUS),β-galactosidase, luciferase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.Jefferson, R. A., Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387 (1987), Teeri et al., EMBOJ. 8:343 (1989), Koncz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:131(1987), DeBlock et al., EMBO J. 3:1681 (1984).

Recently, in vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity that do notrequire destruction of plant tissue have been made available. MolecularProbes publication 2908, Imagene Green.TM., p. 1-4 (1993) and Naleway etal., J. Cell Biol. 115:151a (1991). However, these in vivo methods forvisualizing GUS activity have not proven useful for recovery oftransformed cells because of low sensitivity, high fluorescentbackgrounds and limitations associated with the use of luciferase genesas selectable markers.

More recently, a gene encoding Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has beenutilized as a marker for gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryoticcells. Chalfie et al., Science 263:802 (1994). GFP and mutants of GFPmay be used as screenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Canola Transformation: Promoters

Genes included in expression vectors must be driven by a nucleotidesequence comprising a regulatory element, for example, a promoter.Several types of promoters are now well known in the transformationarts, as are other regulatory elements that can be used alone or incombination with promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNAupstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition andbinding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription.A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription inplant cells. Examples of promoters under developmental control includepromoters that preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues,such as leaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, orsclerenchyma. Such promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred.”Promoters which initiate transcription only in certain tissues arereferred to as “tissue-specific.” A “cell type” specific promoterprimarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs,for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoteris a promoter which is under environmental control. Examples ofenvironmental conditions that may effect transcription by induciblepromoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light.Tissue-specific, tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and induciblepromoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A“constitutive” promoter is a promoter which is active under mostenvironmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters

An inducible promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression incanola. Optionally, the inducible promoter is operably linked to anucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linkedto a gene for expression in canola. With an inducible promoter, the rateof transcription increases in response to an inducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward etal., Plant Mol. Biol. 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary inducible promotersinclude, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI system whichresponds to copper (Mett et al., PNAS 90:4567-4571 (1993)); In2 genefrom maize which responds to benzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners(Hershey et al., Mol. Gen Genetics 227:229-237 (1991) and Gatz et al.,Mol. Gen. Genetics 243:32-38 (1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz etal., Mol. Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991)). A particularly preferredinducible promoter is a promoter that responds to an inducing agent towhich plants do not normally respond. An exemplary inducible promoter isthe inducible promoter from a steroid hormone gene, the transcriptionalactivity of which is induced by a glucocorticosteroid hormone. Schena etal., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:0421 (1991).

B. Constitutive Promoters

A constitutive promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression incanola or the constitutive promoter is operably linked to a nucleotidesequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a genefor expression in canola.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instantinvention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limitedto, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV(Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812 (1985)) and the promoters from suchgenes as rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171 (1990));ubiquitin (Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 (1989) andChristensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last etal., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten et al., EMBO J.3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al., Mol. Gen.Genetics 231:276-285 (1992) and Atanassova et al., Plant Journal 2 (3):291-300 (1992)). The ALS promoter, Xba1/NcoI fragment 5′ to the Brassicanapus ALS3 structural gene (or a nucleotide sequence similarity to saidXba1/NcoI fragment), represents a particularly useful constitutivepromoter. See PCT application WO 96/30530.

C. Tissue-Specific or Tissue-Preferred Promoters

A tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a gene for expressionin canola. Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter is operably linkedto a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operablylinked to a gene for expression in canola. Plants transformed with agene of interest operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter producethe protein product of the transgene exclusively, or preferentially, ina specific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in theinstant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferredpromoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferredpromoter—such as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai et al., Science23:476-482 (1983) and Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.U.S.A. 82:3320-3324 (1985)); a leaf-specific and light-induced promotersuch as that from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J.4(11):2723-2729 (1985) and Timko et al., Nature 318:579-582 (1985)); ananther-specific promoter such as that from LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol.Gen. Genetics 217:240-245 (1989)); a pollen-specific promoter such asthat from Zm13 (Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 244:161-168 (1993))or a microspore-preferred promoter such as that from apg (Twell et al.,Sex. Plant Reprod. 6:217-224 (1993)).

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartmentsuch as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall ormitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, is accomplished bymeans of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signalsequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein ofinterest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structuralgene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where theencoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized.

The presence of a signal sequence directs a polypeptide to either anintracellular organelle or subcellular compartment, or for secretion tothe apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, forexample Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:49 (1992), Close, P. S.,Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993), Knox, C., et al.,“Structure and Organization of Two Divergent Alpha-Amylase Genes fromBarley,” Plant Mol. Biol. 9:3-17 (1987), Lerner et al., Plant Physiol.91:124-129 (1989), Fontes et al., Plant Cell 3:483-496 (1991), Matsuokaet al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:834 (1991), Gould et al., J. Cell.Biol. 108:1657 (1989), Creissen et al., Plant J. 2:129 (1991), Kalderon,et al., A short amino acid sequence able to specify nuclear location,Cell 39:499-509 (1984), Steifel, et al., Expression of a maize cell wallhydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein gene in early leaf and root vasculardifferentiation, Plant Cell 2:785-793 (1990).

Foreign Protein Genes and Agronomic Genes

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreignprotein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques forthe selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are wellunderstood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which areharvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign protein then can beextracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Proteinextraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods whichare discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem. 114:92-6(1981).

According to a preferred embodiment, the transgenic plant provided forcommercial production of foreign protein is a canola plant. In anotherpreferred embodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. For therelatively small number of transgenic plants that show higher levels ofexpression, a genetic map can be generated, primarily via conventionalRFLP, PCR and SSR analysis, which identifies the approximate chromosomallocation of the integrated DNA molecule. For exemplary methodologies inthis regard, see Glick and Thompson, Methods in Plant Molecular Biologyand Biotechnology CRC Press, Boca Raton 269:284 (1993). Map informationconcerning chromosomal location is useful for proprietary protection ofa subject transgenic plant. If unauthorized propagation is undertakenand crosses made with other germplasm, the map of the integration regioncan be compared to similar maps for suspect plants, to determine if thelatter have a common parentage with the subject plant. Map comparisonswould involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR and sequencing, all ofwhich are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic genes can beexpressed in transformed plants. More particularly, plants can begenetically engineered to express various phenotypes of agronomicinterest. Exemplary genes implicated in this regard include, but are notlimited to, those categorized below:

1. Genes that Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease and that Encode:

A. Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activated byspecific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene(R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr)gene in the pathogen. A plant variety can be transformed with clonedresistance genes to engineer plants that are resistant to specificpathogen strains. See, for example Jones et al., Science 266:789 (1994)(cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance to Cladosporium fulvum);Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993) (tomato Pto gene for resistanceto Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato encodes a protein kinase); Mindrinoset al., Cell 78:1089 (1994) (Arabidopsis RSP2 gene for resistance toPseudomonas syringae).

B. A gene conferring resistance to a pest, such as soybean cystnematode. See e.g., PCT Application WO 96/30517; PCT Application WO93/19181.

C. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or a syntheticpolypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser et al., Gene48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Btδ-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encoding δ-endotoxin genes canbe purchased from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., forexample, under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098, 67136, 31995 and 31998.

D. A lectin. See, for example, the disclosure by Van Damme et al., PlantMolec. Biol. 24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences ofseveral Clivia miniata mannose-binding lectin genes.

E. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See PCT applicationUS93/06487. The application teaches the use of avidin and avidinhomologues as larvicides against insect pests.

F. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitoror an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe et al., J. Biol. Chem.262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinaseinhibitor), Huub et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:985 (1993) (nucleotidesequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I), Sumitani etal., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequence ofStreptomyces nitrosporeus .alpha.-amylase inhibitor) and U.S. Pat. No.5,494,813 (Hepher and Atkinson, issued Feb. 27, 1996).

G. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid orjuvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or anantagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure byHammock et al., Nature 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression ofcloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

H. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression,disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see thedisclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem. 269:9 (1994) (expression cloningyields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor), and Pratt etal., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin isidentified in Diploptera puntata). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 toTomalski et al., who disclose genes encoding insect-specific, paralyticneurotoxins.

I. An insect-specific venom produced in nature by a snake, a wasp, etc.For example, see Pang et al., Gene 116:165 (1992), for disclosure ofheterologous expression in plants of a gene coding for a scorpioninsectotoxic peptide.

J. An enzyme responsible for a hyperaccumulation of a monoterpene, asesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivativeor another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

K. An enzyme involved in the modification, including thepost-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; forexample, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme,a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, aphosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, achitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCTapplication WO 93/02197 in the name of Scott et al., which discloses thenucleotide sequence of a callase gene. DNA molecules which containchitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained, for example, from the ATCCunder Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also Kramer et al., InsectBiochem. Molec. Biol. 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotide sequenceof a cDNA encoding tobacco hornworm chitinase, and Kawalleck et al.,Plant Molec. Biol. 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotide sequence ofthe parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin gene.

L. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see thedisclosure by Botella et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:757 (1994), ofnucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones, and Griess etal., Plant Physiol. 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotide sequenceof a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

M. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT application WO 95/16776(disclosure of peptide derivatives of Tachyplesin which inhibit fungalplant pathogens) and PCT application WO 95/18855 (teaches syntheticantimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance).

N. A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. Forexample, see the disclosure of Jaynes et al., Plant Sci 89:43 (1993), ofheterologous expression of a cecropin-.beta., lytic peptide analog torender transgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

O. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. Forexample, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plantcells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease developmenteffected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, aswell as by related viruses. See Beachy et al., Ann. rev. Phytopathol.28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has been conferred upontransformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus,tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y, tobacco etchvirus, tobacco rattle virus and tobacco mosaic virus. Id.

P. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom.Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in theinsect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect. Cf.Taylor et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Int'l Symposium on MolecularPlant-Microbe Interactions (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1994) (enzymaticinactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chainantibody fragments).

Q. A virus-specific antibody. See, for example, Tavladoraki et al.,Nature 366:469 (1993), who show that transgenic plants expressingrecombinant antibody genes are protected from virus attack.

R. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogen ora parasite. Thus, fungal endo α-1,4-D-polygalacturonases facilitatefungal colonization and plant nutrient release by solubilizing plantcell wall homo-α-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lamb et al., Bio/Technology10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterization of a gene which encodesa bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibiting protein is described by Toubartet al., Plant J. 2:367 (1992).

S. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. Forexample, Logemann et al., Bio/Technology 10:305 (1992), have shown thattransgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivating gene havean increased resistance to fungal disease.

2. Genes that Confer Resistance to an Herbicide:

A. An herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as animidazolinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category codefor mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme as described, for example, by Lee et al.,EMBO J. 7:1241 (1988), and Miki et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 80:449(1990), respectively.

B. Glyphosate (resistance conferred by, e.g., mutant5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs) genes (via theintroduction of recombinant nucleic acids and/or various forms of invivo mutagenesis of native EPSPs genes), aroA genes and glyphosateacetyl transferase (GAT) genes, respectively), other phosphono compoundssuch as glufosinate (phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) genesfrom Streptomyces species, including Streptomyces hygroscopicus andStreptomyces viridichromogenes), and pyridinoxy or phenoxy proprionicacids and cyclohexones (ACCase inhibitor-encoding genes), See, forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835 to Shah, et al. and U.S. Pat. No.6,248,876 to Barry et. al., which disclose nucleotide sequences of formsof EPSPs which can confer glyphosate resistance to a plant. A DNAmolecule encoding a mutant aroA gene can be obtained under ATCCaccession number 39256, and the nucleotide sequence of the mutant geneis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,061 to Comai. European patentapplication No. 0 333 033 to Kumada et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,374to Goodman et al., disclose nucleotide sequences of glutamine synthetasegenes which confer resistance to herbicides such as L-phosphinothricin.The nucleotide sequence of a PAT gene is provided in Europeanapplication No. 0 242 246 to Leemans et al., DeGreef et al.,Bio/Technology 7:61 (1989), describe the production of transgenic plantsthat express chimeric bar genes coding for PAT activity. Exemplary ofgenes conferring resistance to phenoxy proprionic acids andcyclohexones, such as sethoxydim and haloxyfop are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2and Acc1-S3 genes described by Marshall et al., Theor. Appl. Genet.83:435 (1992). GAT genes capable of conferring glyphosate resistance aredescribed in WO 2005012515 to Castle et. al. Genes conferring resistanceto 2,4-D, fop and pyridyloxy auxin herbicides are described in WO2005107437 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/587,893, bothassigned to Dow AgroSciences LLC.

C. An herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbAand gs+ genes) or a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Przibila et al.,Plant Cell 3:169 (1991), describe the transformation of Chlamydomonaswith plasmids encoding mutant psbA genes. Nucleotide sequences fornitrilase genes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648 to Stalker, andDNA molecules containing these genes are available under ATCC AccessionNos. 53435, 67441, and 67442. Cloning and expression of DNA coding for aglutathione S-transferase is described by Hayes et al., Biochem. J.285:173 (1992).

3. Genes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait, Such as:

A. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by transforming a plantwith an antisense gene of stearyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearicacid content of the plant. See Knultzon et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.U.S.A. 89:2624 (1992).

B. Decreased phytate content—1) Introduction of a phytase-encoding genewould enhance breakdown of phytate, adding more free phosphate to thetransformed plant. For example, see Van Hartingsveldt et al., Gene127:87 (1993), for a disclosure of the nucleotide sequence of anAspergillus niger phytase gene. 2) A gene could be introduced thatreduced phytate content. In maize for example, this could beaccomplished by cloning and then reintroducing DNA associated with thesingle allele which is responsible for maize mutants characterized bylow levels of phytic acid. See Raboy et al., Maydica 35:383 (1990).

C. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, bytransforming plants with a gene coding for an enzyme that alters thebranching pattern of starch. See Shiroza et al., J. Bacteol. 170:810(1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutantsfructosyltransferase gene), Steinmetz et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 20:220(1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene), Penet al., Bio/Technology 10:292 (1992) (production of transgenic plantsthat express Bacillus lichenifonnis α-amylase), Elliot et al., PlantMolec. Biol. 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences of tomato invertasegenes), Sogaard et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:22480 (1993) (site-directedmutagenesis of barley α-amylase gene), and Fisher et al., Plant Physiol.102:1045 (1993) (maize endosperm starch branching enzyme II).

Methods for Canola Transformation

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed includingbiological and physical plant transformation protocols. See, forexample, Miki et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA intoPlants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, GlickB. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages67-88. In addition, expression vectors and in vitro culture methods forplant cell or tissue transformation and regeneration of plants areavailable. See, for example, Gruber et al., “Vectors for PlantTransformation” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,Glick B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993)pages 89-119.

A. Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation—One method for introducing anexpression vector into plants is based on the natural transformationsystem of Agrobacterium. See, for example, Horsch et al., Science227:1229 (1985). A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are plant pathogenicsoil bacteria which genetically transform plant cells. The Ti and Riplasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes, respectively, carry genesresponsible for genetic transformation of the plant. See, for example,Kado, C. I., Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 10:1 (1991). Descriptions ofAgrobacterium vector systems and methods for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer are provided by Gruber et al., supra, Miki et al., supra, andMoloney et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:238 (1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No.5,563,055 (Townsend and Thomas), issued Oct. 8, 1996.

B. Direct Gene Transfer—Several methods of plant transformation,collectively referred to as direct gene transfer, have been developed asan alternative to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generallyapplicable method of plant transformation is microprojectile-mediatedtransformation wherein DNA is carried on the surface of microprojectilesmeasuring 1 to 4 μm. The expression vector is introduced into planttissues with a biolistic device that accelerates the microprojectiles tospeeds of 300 to 600 m/s which is sufficient to penetrate plant cellwalls and membranes. Sanford et al., Part. Sci. Technol. 5:27 (1987),Sanford, J. C., Trends Biotech. 6:299 (1988), Klein et al.,Bio/Technology 6:559-563 (1988), Sanford, J. C., Physiol Plant 7:206(1990), Klein et al., Biotechnology 10:268 (1992). See also U.S. Pat.No. 5,015,580 (Christou, et al.), issued May 14, 1991; U.S. Pat. No.5,322,783 (Tomes, et al.), issued Jun. 21, 1994.

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication oftarget cells. Zhang et al., Bio/Technology 9:996 (1991). Alternatively,liposome and spheroplast fusion have been used to introduce expressionvectors into plants. Deshayes et al., EMBO J, 4:2731 (1985), Christou etal., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptake of DNAinto protoplasts using CaCl₂ precipitation, polyvinyl alcohol orpoly-L-ornithine has also been reported. Hain et al., Mol. Gen. Genet.199:161 (1985) and Draper et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 23:451 (1982).Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells and tissues have alsobeen described. Donn et al., In Abstracts of VIIth InternationalCongress on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p 53 (1990);D'Halluin et al., Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (1992) and Spencer et al.,Plant Mol. Biol. 24:51-61 (1994).

Following transformation of canola target tissues, expression of theabove-described selectable marker genes allows for preferentialselection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, usingregeneration and selection methods now well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used forproducing a transgenic variety. The transgenic variety could then becrossed, with another (non-transformed or transformed) variety, in orderto produce a new transgenic variety. Alternatively, a genetic traitwhich has been engineered into a particular canola cultivar using theforegoing transformation techniques could be moved into another cultivarusing traditional backcrossing techniques that are well known in theplant breeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be usedto move an engineered trait from a public, non-elite variety into anelite variety, or from a variety containing a foreign gene in its genomeinto a variety or varieties which do not contain that gene. As usedherein, “crossing” can refer to a simple X by Y cross, or the process ofbackcrossing, depending on the context.

Tissue Culture of Canolas

Further production of the DN040844 cultivar can occur byself-pollination or by tissue culture and regeneration. Tissue cultureof various tissues of canola and regeneration of plants therefrom isknown. For example, the propagation of a canola cultivar by tissueculture is described in any of the following but not limited to any ofthe following: Chuong et al., “A Simple Culture Method for Brassicahypocotyls Protoplasts,” Plant Cell Reports 4:4-6 (1985); Barsby, T. L.,et al., “A Rapid and Efficient Alternative Procedure for theRegeneration of Plants from Hypocotyl Protoplasts of Brassica napus,”Plant Cell Reports, (Spring, 1996); Kartha, K., et al., “In vitro PlantFormation from Stem Explants of Rape,” Physiol. Plant, 31:217-220(1974); Narasimhulu, S., et al., “Species Specific Shoot RegenerationResponse of Cotyledonary Explants of Brassicas,” Plant Cell Reports,(Spring 1988); Swanson, E., “Microspore Culture in Brassica,” Methods inMolecular Biology, Vol. 6, Chapter 17, p. 159 (1990).

Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture andregeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of soybeans andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. Forexample, reference may be had to Komatsuda, T. et al., “Genotype XSucrose Interactions for Somatic Embryogenesis in Soybeans,” Crop Sci.31:333-337 (1991); Stephens, P. A., et al., “Agronomic Evaluation ofTissue-Culture-Derived Soybean Plants,” Theor. Appl. Genet (1991)82:633-635; Komatsuda, T. et al., “Maturation and Germination of SomaticEmbryos as Affected by Sucrose and Plant Growth Regulators in SoybeansGlycine gracilis Skvortz and Glycine max (L.) Merr.” Plant Cell, Tissueand Organ Culture, 28:103-113 (1992); Dhir, S. et al., “Regeneration ofFertile Plants from Protoplasts of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.);Genotypic Differences in Culture Response,” Plant Cell Reports (1992)11:285-289; Pandey, P. et al., “Plant Regeneration from Leaf andHypocotyl Explants of Glycine-wightii (W. and A.) VERDC. var.longicauda,” Japan J. Breed. 42:1-5 (1992); and Shetty, K., et al.,“Stimulation of In Vitro Shoot Organogenesis in Glycine max (Merrill.)by Allantoin and Amides,” Plant Science 81:245-251 (1992). Thedisclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,944 issued Jun. 18, 1991 to Collinset al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,200 issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Ranch etal., are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.Thus, another aspect of this invention is to provide cells which upongrowth and differentiation produce canola plants having thephysiological and morphological characteristics of canola varietyDN040844.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a compositioncomprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or acollection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplarytypes of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, plant clumps, and plantcells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plants orparts of plants, such as embryos, pollen, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves,stems, roots, root tips, anthers, and the like. Means for preparing andmaintaining plant tissue culture are well known in the art. By way ofexample, a tissue culture comprising organs has been used to produceregenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185, 5,973,234 and 5,977,445,describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

Single-Gene Converted (Conversion) Plants

When the term “canola plant” is used in the context of the presentinvention, this also includes any single gene conversions of thatvariety. The term “single gene converted plant” as used herein refers tothose canola plants which are developed by a plant breeding techniquecalled backcrossing, or via genetic engineering, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of avariety are recovered in addition to the single gene transferred intothe variety via the backcrossing technique. Backcrossing methods can beused with the present invention to improve or introduce a characteristicinto the variety. The term “backcrossing” as used herein refers to therepeated crossing of a hybrid progeny back to the recurrent parent,i.e., backcrossing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more times to the recurrentparent. The parental canola plant which contributes the gene for thedesired characteristic is termed the “nonrecurrent” or “donor parent.”This terminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is usedone time in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. Theparental canola plant to which the gene or genes from the nonrecurrentparent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is usedfor several rounds in the backcrossing protocol (Poehlman & Sleper,1994; Fehr, 1987). In a typical backcross protocol, the original varietyof interest (recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety(nonrecurrent parent) that carries the single gene of interest to betransferred. The resulting progeny from this cross are then crossedagain to the recurrent parent and the process is repeated until a canolaplant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphologicaland physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recoveredin the converted plant, in addition to the single transferred gene fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological,constitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross. One ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomicallyimportant trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol willdepend on the characteristic or trait being altered to determine anappropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods aresimplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominantallele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance itmay be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if thedesired characteristic has been successfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new variety but that can beimproved by backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may notbe transgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to,male sterility, waxy starch, herbicide resistance, resistance forbacterial, fungal, or viral disease, insect resistance, male fertility,enhanced nutritional quality, industrial usage, yield stability andyield enhancement. These genes are generally inherited through thenucleus. Several of these single gene traits are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,959,185, 5,973,234 and 5,977,445, the disclosures of which arespecifically hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention also is directed to methods for producing a canola plantby crossing a first parent canola plant with a second parent canolaplant wherein the first or second parent canola plant is a canola plantof the variety DN040844. Further, both first and second parent canolaplants can come from the canola variety DN040844. Thus, any such methodsusing the canola variety DN040844 are part of this invention: selfing,backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses to populations, and the like.All plants produced using canola variety DN040844 as a parent are withinthe scope of this invention, including those developed from varietiesderived from canola variety DN040844. Advantageously, the canola varietycould be used in crosses with other, different, canola plants to producefirst generation (F.sub. 1) canola hybrid seeds and plants with superiorcharacteristics. The variety of the invention can also be used fortransformation where exogenous genes are introduced and expressed by thevariety of the invention. Genetic variants created either throughtraditional breeding methods using variety DN040844 or throughtransformation of DN040844 by any of a number of protocols known tothose of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of thisinvention.

The invention is also directed to Canola meal from seeds of an elitecanola variety. In a particular embodiment, the seeds comprise at least45% protein by weight. Canola meal of the present invention preferablyhas low fiber content, higher protein, and lower glucosinolate levelscompared to presently used canola meal.

Oxidative Stability

Stability can be defined as the resistance of a vegetable oil tooxidation and to the resulting deterioration due to the generation ofproducts causing rancidity and decreasing food quality. Tests foroxidative stability attempt to accelerate the normal oxidation processto yield results that can be translated into quality parameters fordifferent food ails and to predict their shelf lives. Stability methodsare also useful to evaluate antioxidants and their effects on protectionof foods against lipid oxidation.

Lipid oxidation in food products develops slowly initially, and thenaccelerates at later stages during storage. The induction period isdefined as the time to reach a constant percent oxidation of the fat asrelated to the end of shelf life. The induction period is measuredeither as the time required for a sudden change in rate of oxidation, orby estimating the intersection point between the initial and final ratesof oxidation. For vegetable oils containing linoleic and linolenic acid,such as soybean and canola oils, the end-points for acceptability willoccur at relatively low levels of oxidation (peroxide values between 1and 10 Meq/kg).

Factors Affecting Oxidative Stability

The difference in stability between different vegetable oils is due totheir different fatty acid profiles, the effect of processing, initiallevels of oxidation at the start of the storage period, and otherfactors including, minor components, including the presence of metalimpurities, formulation, packaging and environmental storage conditions.From the crude stage to different stages of processing of vegetableoils, some oxidation can take place that will affect the subsequentoxidative stability of the final oil product during storage.

Oxidative Stability Methods

To estimate the oxidative stability of a fat to oxidation, the sample issubjected to an accelerated oxidation test under standardized conditionsand a suitable end-point is chosen to determine the level of oxidativedeterioration. Methods involving elevated temperatures include:

1. Schaal Oven Test

The sample is heated at 50 to 60° C. until it reaches a suitableend-point based on peroxide value or carbonyl value such as theanisidine value. The results of this test correlate best with actualshelf life because the peroxide value end-point of 10 represents arelatively low degree of oxidation. See, limiting peroxide value insection D below.

2. Active Oxygen Method (AOM), Rancimat and Oxidation Stability Index(OSI). See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,294 to Matlock et. al., AOCSMethod 12b-92, and Laubli, M. W. and Bruttel, P. A., JOACS 63:792-795(1986).

Air is bubbled through a sample of oil in special test tubes heated at98-100° C. and the progress of oxidation is followed by peroxide valuedetermination in the AOM test, and by conductivity measurements in theRancimat and OSI tests. The automated Rancimat and OSI tests may be runat temperatures ranging from 100-140° C., and the effluent gases are ledthrough a vessel containing deionized water and the increase inconductivity measured are due to the formation of volatile organic acids(mainly formic acid) by thermal oxidation. The OSI is defined as thetime point in hours of maximum change of the rate of oxidation based onconductivity.

D. Methods to Determine Oxidation

The peroxide value of oils is a measure of oxidation that is useful forsamples that are oxidized to relatively low levels (peroxide values ofless than 50), and under conditions sufficiently mild so that thehydroperoxides, which are the primary products formed by oxidation, arenot markedly decomposed. A limiting peroxide value of 10 meq/kg wasspecified for refined oils by FAQ/WHO standards (Joint FAQ/WHO FoodStandard Program Codex Alimentarius Commission, Report of 16th sessionof Committee on Fats and Oils, London, 1999).

The anisidine test measures high molecular weight saturated andunsaturated carbonyl compounds in oils. The test provides usefulinformation on non-volatile carbonyl compounds formed in oils duringprocessing of oils containing linolenate (soybean and rapeseed). TheTotox value (anisidine value+2 times peroxide value) is used as anempirical measure of the precursor non-volatile carbonyl compoundspresent in processed oils plus any further oxidation products developedafter storage.

Tables

Table 1 shows the mean agronomic and quality data of DN040844 relativeto check variety Nex 830 CL, Nex 705, and Nex 715 in 2004. In the table,column 1 shows the variety, columns 2 and 3 show the date to flower(DTF) and the date to maturity (DTM). Column 4 shows the lodging score(LDG) lodging score based on a range of 1-5, with 1 being good (uprightplants) and 5 being poor (plant fallen over). Columns 5 and 6 show lateseason vigor as rated by two different observers (LSV 1 and LSV 2).Columns 7 and 8 show crop injury (as assessed by two observers,respectively) (CI 1 and CI 2) after herbicide application. Columns 9through 12 show percent of C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, and C22:1. Column 13shows the percent total saturated fatty acids (% Sats). Column 14 showsthe Oil content (% Oil), column 15 shows the Protein (% Meal Protein),and columns 16 and 17 show the total glucosinolates (μmol/g seed) asmeasured using near infrared (Glucs-NIR) and wet chemistry (Glucs-WC)methods. Column 18 shows Fusarium wilt tolerance (GH FW) and column 19shows White Rust tolerance (White Rust).

Table 2 shows the mean agronomic and quality characteristics of DN040844versus industry standard check varieties (Q2 and 46A65) and checkvarieties (Nex 830 CL, Nex 828 CL, and Nex 705) varieties in 2004-2005.In the table, column 1 shows the variety, columns 2 and 3 show the dateto maturity (DTM) and the date to flower (DTF). Column 4 shows theheight (HT). Columns 5 and 6 show the late season vigor as rated by twodifferent observers (LSV-CC and LSV-ST). Column 7 shows the mean yieldin kilograms per hectare (Yield (kg/ha)). Columns 8 through 11 show theyield as compared to various variety yields (Q2+45A65, Nex 830, Nex 705,and 46A76). Columns 12 through 15 show percent of C18:1, C18:2, C18:3,and C22:1. Column 16 shows the percent total saturated fatty acids (%Sats). Column 17 shows the Oil content (Oil), column 18 shows theProtein (Protein), and column 19 shows the total glucosinolates (μmol/gseed). The data demonstrate, inter alia, the combination of Natreon oilquality with significantly higher yield.

Table 3 shows agronomic and quality traits of DN040844 and other Nexeralines versus industry standard check varieties (Q2 and 46A65, 5020 CL)and check (Nex 830 CL) variety in 2005. In the table, column 1 shows thevariety. Columns 2 and 3 show crop injury 11 and 12 days (CH-Ody andC12-Ody), respectively, after application of Odyssey herbicide (an imiherbicide). Columns 4 and 5 show crop injury 11 and 12 days (CH-Bey andC12-Bey), respectively, after application of Beyond herbicide. Column 6shows early season vigor (ESV). Columns 7 and 8 show the date to flower(DTF) and the date to maturity (DTM). Column 9 shows height (HGT),column 10 shows the lodging score (LDG) lodging score, and column 11shows the mean yield in kilograms per hectare (Yield (kg/ha)). Columns12 through 14 show the yield as compared to various variety yields (YAPOQ2+45A65, 5020 CL, and Nex 830 CL). Column 15 shows Blackleg diseaseratings are based on a 1-5 scale with 1 being resistant and 5 beingsusceptible. Column 16 shows a yield as a percent of the Westar checkvariety (% of Westar). Column 17 shows the tolerance of DN040844 toBlackleg disease (Leptosphaeria maculans) ((Blackleg). Column 18 showsFusarium wilt tolerance (FW-Fld). Columns 19 through 22 show percent ofC18:1, C18:2, C18:3, and C22:1. Column 23 shows the percent totalsaturated fatty acids (% Sats). Column 24 shows the Oil content (% OilDM), column 25 shows the Protein (% Meal Protein), and column 26 showsthe total glucosinolates (μmol/g seed) (Tot Gluc). Column 27 shows thechlorophyll content (Chlorophyll) and column 28 shows the green seedcontent (Green See (3 Loc)). The data confirms the Natreon oil profile,high oil and protein, higher yield, in combination with low chlorophyllBlackleg resistance, Fusarium wilt resistance and White Rust tolerance.

Deposit Information

A deposit of the Dow AgroSciences proprietary canola cultivar DN040844disclosed above and recited in the appended claims has been made withthe American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard,Manassas, Va. 20110. The date of deposit was ______. The deposit of _seeds were taken from the same deposit maintained by ______ since priorto the filing date of this application. All restrictions upon thedeposit have been removed, and the deposit is intended to meet all ofthe requirements of 37 C.F.R. .sctn.1.801-1.809. The ATCC accessionnumber is PTA-______. The deposit will be maintained in the depositoryfor a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request, or for theeffective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replacedas necessary during that period.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is thereforeintended that the following appended claims and claims hereafterintroduced are interpreted to include all such modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their truespirit and scope.

All references, including publications, patents, and patentapplications, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to thesame extent as if each reference were individually and specificallyindicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in itsentirety herein. The references discussed herein are provided solely fortheir disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application.Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors arenot entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

TABLE 1 Name DTF DTM LDG LSV 2 LSV 1 CI 1 CI 2 C18:1 C18:2 C18:3 Nex 70557 114 2.75 3.75 4.75 30.00 70.00 72.59 16.36 2.52 Nex 715 52 108 3.254.00 5.00 30.00 70.00 71.84 16.07 3.32 Nex 830 CL 55 115 2.82 2.73 2.554.73 5.18 71.43 18.08 1.93 DN040241 52 107 2.50 3.00 3.00 9.50 6.5072.83 16.36 2.07 DN040244 52 104 2.50 2.00 3.00 7.50 5.00 73.56 15.462.06 Nex 705 57 116 3.00 3.75 3.00 30.00 70.00 72.40 16.85 2.35 Nex 71553 107 2.53 3.06 3.16 13.16 22.78 72.35 16.43 2.28 Nex 830 CL 54 1152.47 2.07 2.07 5.80 5.27 71.32 18.16 2.03 DN040839 53 104 2.00 2.00 3.007.00 5.00 73.70 15.51 2.11 DN040844 53 110 2.00 3.00 2.50 5.00 5.0073.52 15.94 2.09 DN040845 53 106 2.00 2.50 3.00 6.50 5.00 75.64 13.661.94 DN040847 55 105 2.00 2.00 2.50 9.50 6.50 73.35 15.86 2.03 DN04085655 110 2.00 2.50 3.00 7.50 7.50 73.75 15.62 2.19 Nex 705 55 113 3.004.00 4.00 30.00 70.00 72.79 16.23 2.85 Nex 715 51 105 2.75 3.67 4.5030.00 70.00 74.16 14.71 2.79 Nex 830 CL 55 114 2.38 2.46 2.62 6.23 5.3172.14 17.67 1.95 DN041100 54 110 2.00 3.00 3.50 7.00 7.50 74.63 15.122.10 Nex 705 55 113 2.80 3.70 4.00 30.00 70.40 72.09 15.90 2.92 Nex 71551 105 3.00 3.63 4.25 30.00 70.00 73.74 14.56 3.04 Nex 830 CL 55 1132.53 2.38 2.56 5.76 5.26 71.16 18.28 2.08 % Meal % Oil Protein Glucs-Glucs- GH White Name C22:1 % Sats DM DM NIR WC FW Rust Nex 705 0.03 5.6652.82 45.45 13.20 5.30 Nex 715 0.01 6.02 46.41 42.93 10.03 7.30 Nex 830CL 0.03 5.52 51.65 46.11 8.43 4.80 DN040241 0.03 5.63 50.33 44.15 10.579.00 R R DN040244 0.02 6.30 50.30 45.00 10.73 11.90 R R Nex 705 0.025.59 51.38 45.15 14.82 Nex 715 0.02 5.85 48.22 43.42 10.49 7.30 Nex 830CL 0.01 5.47 51.67 45.86 8.87 DN040839 0.02 5.89 51.23 46.65 10.75 6.10R R DN040844 0.01 5.85 51.02 44.00 10.96 9.60 R R DN040845 0.01 5.8551.67 43.95 11.66 11.80 R R DN040847 0.01 6.13 50.17 44.50 7.84 8.10 R RDN040856 0.01 5.63 51.96 43.80 11.21 6.90 R R Nex 705 0.03 5.43 52.0144.18 12.01 Nex 715 0.02 5.72 46.22 42.13 9.91 7.50 Nex 830 CL 0.01 5.3151.48 45.23 8.85 4.40 DN041100 0.01 5.10 51.13 44.45 12.82 11.70 R R Nex705 0.45 5.49 50.31 43.61 13.58 14.30 Nex 715 0.01 5.90 45.43 41.8410.06 Nex 830 CL 0.01 5.33 49.88 44.52 9.00 5.20

TABLE 2 Yield Q2 + Name DTM DTF HT LSV-CC LSV-ST (kg/ha) 45A65 Nex 830Nex 705 DN040241 95 47 92 2.67 2.50 2235 100 90 112 DN040244 94 48 882.67 3.33 2133 96 86 107 DN040839 95 47 97 2.33 3.17 2670 120 108 134DN040844 96 46 95 3.33 3.00 2498 112 101 125 DN040845 92 45 93 2.33 2.502642 118 107 133 DN040847 93 47 87 3.00 2.67 2291 103 92 115 DN040856 9548 88 3.00 2.83 2419 108 98 121 DN041100 96 47 92 3.00 3.17 2102 94 85106 46A65 87 45 78 3.67 3.33 2220 99 90 111 46A76 98 49 102 3.33 3.042181 98 88 109 Nex 828 CL 96 47 96 2.83 2.17 2484 111 100 125 Lolinda 9550 88 4.00 2.83 1667 75 67 84 Nex 705 93 49 83 3.00 2.17 1992 89 80 100Nex 715 93 50 83 4.00 2.91 1867 84 75 94 Nex 830 CL 97 47 99 2.98 2.832479 111 100 124 Q2 87 45 90 2.33 2246 101 91 113 Name 46A76 C18:1 C18:2C18:3 C22:1 % Sats Oil Protein Glucs DN040241 102 75.78 13.70 1.68 0.016.21 46.52 47.23 7.37 DN040244 98 76.19 13.27 1.47 0.01 6.65 46.44 49.313.00 DN040839 122 74.53 14.31 1.85 0.00 6.74 45.54 49.67 1.80 DN040844115 76.15 13.47 1.48 0.01 6.52 46.58 48.51 3.50 DN040845 121 76.80 12.771.66 0.02 6.43 47.25 48.36 6.40 DN040847 105 74.81 14.20 1.68 0.02 6.8644.93 48.15 3.33 DN040856 111 76.93 12.94 1.60 0.01 6.22 46.02 46.845.64 DN041100 96 77.50 12.49 1.70 0.01 5.86 47.09 48.12 11.21 46A65 10265.09 19.10 6.76 0.02 6.69 44.97 45.12 14.11 46A76 100 65.03 17.47 7.94— 7.00 44.13 45.63 10.27 Nex 828 CL 114 73.19 16.47 1.60 0.02 6.08 45.6048.11 5.37 Lolinda 76 65.47 23.98 2.21 0.02 6.15 42.46 44.46 11.76 Nex705 91 77.31 13.09 1.43 0.02 5.95 48.58 47.26 8.01 Nex 715 86 76.9213.04 1.62 0.02 6.09 43.14 46.33 9.66 Nex 830 CL 114 73.38 16.32 1.540.01 6.09 46.36 48.56 5.85 Q2 103 65.33 18.08 7.38 0.09 6.76 43.73 46.467.53

TABLE 3 YAPO Candidate HGT LDG Yield YAPO YAPO Nex 830 % of line/CheckDTF (cm) (1-5) (Kg/Ha) 46A65 + Q2 5020 CL Rating Westar 5020 43 98 992.50 3454 124 100 116 45A65 44 102 99 2.75 2786 101 81 94 DN040241 46105 98 2.30 2782 101 81 93 1.14 42 DN040244 45 103 97 2.86 2731 99 79 920.95 35 DN040839 46 104 98 2.16 2731 99 79 92 1.30 48 DN040844 45 105100 2.14 2653 97 77 89 0.82 30 DN040845 45 105 99 2.25 2861 105 83 961.28 47 DN040847 46 106 98 1.79 2623 96 76 88 0.64 23 DN040856 46 105 972.25 2742 99 79 92 0.99 36 DN041100 46 105 94 2.11 2468 91 71 83 1.18 43Nex 830 CL 46 106 108 2.48 2976 108 86 100 Q2 45 102 99 2.51 2756 99 8093 45A71 — — — — — — — PM2 — 2.82 — — — — — — 1.79 LSD (.05) 0.8 10411.0 0.7 411 CV (SAS) 8.7 10.6 13.5 12.2 Mean 45 97 2 2656 ACExcel 1.5055 Defender 1.65 60 Q2 1.00 36 Westar 2.74 100 % Meal Green Candidate %Oil Protein Tot Seed (3 line/Check Blackleg FW-Fld C18:1 C18:2 C18:3C22:1 % Sats DM DM Gluc Chlorophyll Loc) 5020 62.95 18.23 9.40 0.01 6.950.1 45.5 12.5 7.9 0.60 45A65 62.21 19.75 8.65 0.02 6.6 49.3 45.3 17.59.1 0.40 DN040241 MR R 71.16 16.79 2.40 0.02 6.4 49.8 46.8 11.6 14.72.00 DN040244 MR R 71.66 16.27 2.30 0.02 6.8 49.5 47.7 10.6 12.1 0.40DN040839 MR R 71.06 16.66 2.21 0.02 6.7 49.4 48.4 8.1 16.2 0.30 DN040844R R 72.60 15.94 2.18 0.01 6.6 51.3 48.5 11.9 11.7 0.90 DN040845 MR R73.36 15.09 2.21 0.01 6.4 50.7 47.7 11.2 9.1 0.30 DN040847 R R 71.3916.45 2.22 0.01 6.9 49.0 47.4 9.0 14.5 0.90 DN040856 MR R 72.44 15.932.31 0.02 6.4 50.6 47.5 11.0 14.9 0.40 DN041100 MR R 73.25 15.58 2.220.04 5.9 50.8 47.5 15.5 12.5 0.70 Nex 830 69.36 18.89 2.22 0.01 6.4 49.146.9 8.4 17.6 2.00 CL Q2 61.87 18.90 9.21 0.22 7.0 49.0 47.1 14.8 13.20.30 45A71 — — — — — — — — — — PM2 — — — — — — — — — — LSD (.05) 2.901.22 1.18 0.14 0.6 2.4 1.2 2.3 12.1 CV (SAS) 2.01 3.62 20.25 205.26 4.32.3 1.2 9.0 29.2 Mean 70.55 16.82 2.97 0.03 6.5 49.4 46.7 12.9 34.4ACExcel MS Defender MS Q2 MR Westar S

1. A seed of canola cultivar designated DN040844, wherein arepresentative sample of seed of said cultivar was deposited under ATCCAccession No. PTA-______.
 2. A canola plant, or a part thereof, producedby growing the seed of claim
 1. 3. A method of introducing a desiredtrait into canola cultivar DN040844, wherein the method comprises: (a)crossing a DN040844 plant, wherein a representative sample of seed wasdeposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-______, with a plant of anothercanola cultivar that comprises a desired trait to produce F₁ progenyplants, wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consistingof male sterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, andresistance to bacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease; (b)selecting one or more progeny plants that have the desired trait toproduce selected progeny plants; (c) crossing the selected progenyplants with the DN040040844 plants to produce backcross progeny plants;(d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired traitand physiological and morphological characteristics of canola cultivarDN040844 to produce selected backcross progeny plants; and (e) repeatingsteps (c) and (d) three or more times to produce selected fourth orhigher backcross progeny plants that comprise the desired trait and anoleic acid value of about 70% and an α-linolenic acid value of less thanabout 3%.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plants further comprisea yield greater than about 2100 kg/ha, a protein value of greater than45%, a glucosinolate value of less than 12%, or a chlorophyll value ofless than 18%.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the plants furthercomprise resistance to Blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans), Fusarium wilt,or White Rust.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the plants furthercomprise herbicide resistance to an herbicide selected from the groupconsisting of imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate,L-phosphinothricin, triazine, Clearfield, Dicamaba, 2,4-D, andbenzonitrile.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the plants comprise allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of canolacultivar DN040844 as shown in Tables 1, 2 and
 3. 8. A canola plantproduced by the method of claim 3, wherein the plant has the desiredtrait and desired trait comprises an oleic acid value of about 70% andan α-linolenic acid value of less than about 3%.
 9. The canola plant ofclaim 8, wherein the desired trait further comprises herbicideresistance and the resistance is conferred to an herbicide selected fromthe group consisting of imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate,glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine, Clearfield, Dicamaba, 2,4-D,and benzonitrile.
 10. The canola plant of claim 8, wherein the desiredtrait further comprises insect resistance and the insect resistance isconferred by a transgene encoding a Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin.11. The canola plant of claim 8, wherein the desired trait furthercomprises resistance to Blackleg, Fusarium wilt, or White Rust.
 12. Thecanola plant of claim 8, wherein the plant comprises all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of canola cultivarDN040844, as shown in Tables 1, 2, and
 3. 13. A method of modifyingfatty acid metabolism or modifying carbohydrate metabolism of canolacultivar DN040844 wherein the method comprises: (a) crossing a DN040844plant, wherein a representative sample of seed was deposited under ATCCAccession No. PTA-______, with a plant of another canola cultivar toproduce F₁ progeny plants that comprise a nucleic acid molecule encodingan enzyme selected from the group consisting of phytase,fructosyltransferase, levansucrase, alpha-amylase, invertase and starchbranching enzyme or encoding an antisense of stearyl-ACP desaturase; (b)selecting one or more progeny plants that have said nucleic acidmolecule to produce selected progeny plants; (c) crossing the selectedprogeny plants with the DN040844 plants to produce backcross progenyplants; (d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have saidnucleic acid molecule and physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of canola cultivar DN040844 to produce selectedbackcross progeny plants; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three ormore times to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny plantsthat comprise said nucleic acid molecule and have an oleic acid value ofabout 70% and an α-linolenic acid value of less than about 3%.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the plants further comprise a yield greaterthan about 2100 kg/ha, a protein value of greater than 45%, aglucosinolate value of less than 12%, or a chlorophyll value of lessthan 18%.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the plants furthercomprise resistance to Blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans), Fusarium wilt,or White Rust.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the plants furthercomprise herbicide resistance to an herbicide selected from the groupconsisting of imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate,L-phosphinothricin, triazine, Clearfield, Dicamaba, 2,4-D, andbenzonitrile.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the plants compriseall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of canolacultivar DN040844 as shown in Tables 1, 2 and
 3. 18. A canola plantproduced by the method of claim 13, wherein the plant comprises thenucleic acid molecule and has an oleic acid value of about 70% and anα-linolenic acid value of less than about 3%.
 19. A canola plantproduced by the method of claim 13, wherein the plants further comprisea yield greater than about 2100 kg/ha, a protein value of greater than45%, a glucosinolate value of less than 12%, or a chlorophyll value ofless than 18%.
 20. A canola plant produced by the method of claim 13,wherein the plants comprise all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of canola cultivar DN040844 as shown in Tables 1, 2 and3.